Developing Best Practice knowledge transfer between the relatively-autonomous parts of a larger company, consists primarily in breaking down cultural barriers and information silos: this strategy is based on Kaplan and Norton’s mantra that “if we only knew what we know, we’d be three times more profitable”.

In the context of a building materials group, Best Practice transfers can be the focus of many different activities, including:

Cement and lime production, including use of alternative fuels and materials,

Clay and ceramic products.

Concrete architectural products,

Concrete precast products and systems,

Fencing, glass, insulation and other building envelope products,

Mobile plant and logistics optimisation,

Energy optimisation,

Conventional and renewable power generation,

Centralised procurement of plant and equipment.

Achieving success in Best Practice transfer first relies on debunking views such as “we’re different”, “that won’t work here” or “we tried that before”. Minds have to be opened up through bringing the right people together, breaking the ice across language and cultural barriers, developing common terminology, identifying common challenges and then achieving some early win-wins.

Early achievements can quickly lead on to goodwill in facing more complex challenges. It is then important to benchmark performance against demanding goals. Only with persistent follow-up will tangible benefits be achieved. Significant financial dividends will result, often more than originally anticipated.